Pat E. Cavness

Pat Edward Cavness walked this earth for 75 years and four months, leaving behind much larger footprints than his size 10 shoes would suggest. The youngest of three children born to Damon Edward (“Bill”) Cavness and Bernice Parisher Cavness, Pat grew up in the small town of Cherokee, Texas, collecting a variety of life experiences that shaped the man he became.   Cherokee was (and still is) a small town in San Saba County. All twelve grades of the school were housed in one building. Pat’s kids didn’t know he was joking when he bragged about graduating third in his class, until they found out there were only five students in his entire grade. Small as Cherokee High School was, they played 11-man football when Pat was in school, and he played center — all 125 pounds of him.   After graduating from high school in 1961, Pat moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas at Austin (UT), forming a lifelong attachment to his beloved Longhorns. He married Venona Goodwin in 1962 and started UT law school the next year, the year their first child, Lorri, was born.   While attending law school, Pat worked for Senator George Parkhouse and apparently made a good impression. A letter from Senator Parkhouse in 1965 recommending Pat for a position as an apartment manager is too delightful not to share. The letter states, in part:   “Pat has worked in my office during this session of the Legislature, and he has                     done a most outstanding job. Pat is a very intelligent young man and I find his                        character unquestionable.   “For his age he is a very stable young man, is not excitable under pressing conditions and very able to make fair decisions. He gets along splendid with his co-workers, does more than his share of the office work, and is very prompt and dependable.   “Pat is married and has one child, and I do know personally that he does not indulge in liquor in any form, and does not keep late night hours in rowdy places.”   Upon receiving his law degree in 1966, Pat and his family moved to Venona’s hometown, Lampasas, where Pat was elected County Attorney. The small family quickly became a large family, as three more children, David, Joel, and Lindy, were born in the next four years. The family was completed with Joshua’s much-anticipated arrival in 1978.   After serving as County Attorney, Pat entered private practice with J.V. Hammett, whose legal skills Pat extolled throughout his life. Pat opened his own law office on the courtyard square in 1977, where he practiced until his retirement in 2009. Throughout his 43-year career, Pat sought to provide his clients with expert legal representation, specializing over time in real estate and probate law.   A lover of the outdoors, Pat taught his kids how to dig postholes for fences (and maybe sometimes just for the pleasure of digging a hole in the ground), to pile rocks, and to clear brush. He was always battling the briar patches and cedar trees and took great pleasure in his fleeting triumphs over them. One of his favorite pastimes was meandering through the pasture in his little blue Toyota pickup, kids in tow, enjoying the scenery and planning his next land-improvement projects.   In the late 1970s, Pat, along with two close friends, George McCann and Harrell Clary, sponsored refugee families from Vietnam and helped them settle in Lampasas, where they lived for a time before moving to California. The years spent with these families were precious. The Cavness, McCann and Clary families, as well as many other people in the Lampasas community, formed lasting bonds with the family of Thai Giao Xiêm, from Qui Nhon, Vietnam.   Pat’s life encompassed the full range of the human experience. Alongside great love and joy, he suffered great loss. Pat’s brother, Joe, died when his truck was hit by a train, and Pat’s son, David, died after a long struggle with mental illness and substance abuse. Perhaps the cruelest form of suffering for this intellectually inquisitive man was the dementia that stole his mind, bit by painful bit, the last ten years of his life.   Pat was a poet and a defiant seeker of truth. One of Pat’s most touching poems is about a solitary blue mule. In the poem, the blue mule seeks relief from his affliction by the Council of the Dead, but when he is informed that relief can only come from bowing to the “god of the conformers,” the blue mule refuses and walks away. Pat recited this poem at gatherings of friends and family many times. One of the most poignant gifts Pat gave to his loved ones was in 2015, when, despite dementia-impaired communication abilities, he was still able to quote most of his “Blue Mule” poem from memory.   A spiritual seeker, Pat grew up in the Church of Christ.  As an adult, he served as a deacon and taught Sunday School.  His spiritual quest eventually led him, along with two other families, to form a nondenominational congregation, Broad Street Chapel. The members of this small congregation met for several years before disbanding to continue their spiritual journeys according to their own itineraries. Pat returned to the Church of Christ in his retirement years, reconnecting with the familiar rituals of his youth.   A lifelong Democrat, Pat instilled in his kids a deep sense of social justice, a strong work ethic, and perhaps, a bit of contrariness. We are honored and eternally grateful to have known this brilliant, kind, moral, funny, loving, and complicated man.   Pat is survived by daughter, Lorri Haden and husband, Jim Trawicki; son, Joel Cavness and wife, Lavanya Vankayalapati; daughter, Lindy Cavness; son, Joshua Cavness and wife, Frances Garza. Pat is also survived by sister, Danna Jean Seale; grandchildren, Zachary Haden and wife, Jennifer, Daniel Haden and wife, Jennifer, Chloe and Damon Cavness, Caleb Cavness, and Gabriel Green; nieces, Pamela Yates, Sharon Keith, and Susan Seale, and nephews, Darrell Cavness, and Scott and Chris Seale. Pat leaves behind one great-grandaughter, Lovie Haden, extended family members, Paul and Shirley Wilborn and Roger and Stacie Miller, and countless friends.   Pat is predeceased by parents, Damon and Bernice Cavness, brother, Joe Cavness, and son, David Cavness.   Caring for someone with dementia is a special calling. The family is so grateful for the loving and respectful care Pat received from many wonderful staff at The Village at Hancock Park in Lampasas and at Colonial Gardens in Austin. Caring for the dying is also a special calling, and the family wishes to express its deepest gratitude to the amazing nurses and nurse assistants, social workers, and chaplains at Hospice Austin and Christopher House in Austin, for their sensitive and compassionate care that enabled Pat to die with dignity.   A memorial service will be held April 14, 2018, at 2 p.m., at Sneed Funeral Chapel, followed by a gathering at the Hostess House. Donations in Pat’s memory may be sent to Hospice Austin Christopher House, your local Alzheimer’s organization, Inside Books Project, or the charity of your choice.